The students, staff, and faculty of NAIS were saddened to learn of the passing of our dear friend, Dr. Michelene Pesantubbee, Associate Professor Emerita in the Department of Religious Studies. Dr. Pesantubbee coordinated NAIS for several years and taught numerous courses in Native religions, environmentalism, and social justice. We extend our heartfelt condolences to her friends, family and community in Iowa City and Muskogee, Oklahoma. Dr. Pesantubbee’s full obituary may be found here: https://obituaries.muskogeephoenix.com/obituary/michelene-pesantubbee-1082811286

John Doershuk, State Archaeologist and Office of the State Archeologist Director, will lead the four-week course. Participants will be introduced to the essential methods of field archaeology including artifact identification, site mapping, excavation techniques, artifact processing, and beginning analytical methods. The field school will include lectures on Iowa archaeology and the culture history sequence of western Iowa as well as day trips to the Sanford Museum in Cherokee, Iowa and the Dixon Oneota site, and possibly the Blood Run National Historic Landmark, Jeffers Petroglyphs, and Pipestone National Monument.

Professors Rand and Round will serve as collaborators on a three-year project that will bring together interdisciplinary teams of junior and senior scholars from multiple institutions. The project will include a graduate student lab practicum, and culminate with a symposium and edited collections to share research findings with undergraduates and the general public.

The Native American Scholars Initiative (NASI) Undergraduate Summer Internship provides an opportunity for talented undergraduates to conduct research, explore career opportunities in archives and special collections, and learn about advanced training in Native American and Indigenous Studies and related fields. This eight-week paid internship program at the American Philosophical Society Library in Philadelphia prepares students for graduate school or a career in education or libraries through mentoring, networking, and hands-on research experience.

The American Philosophical Society invites applications for predoctoral, postdoctoral, and short-term research fellowships from scholars at all stages of their careers, especially Native American scholars in training, tribal college and university faculty members, and other scholars working closely with Native communities on projects in Native American and Indigenous Studies and related fields and disciplines. These funding opportunities are supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Native American Scholars Initiative (NASI). Fellows will be associated with the APS’s Center for Native American and Indigenous Research (CNAIR), which promotes greater collaboration among scholars, archives, and indigenous communities.

IowaNow features a story on the Iowa Native Spaces project that is working with Meskwaki and Ioway tribal officials to bring historical perspectives to more Iowans.